We have decided it is time to start a warlike campaign against ozone abuse.  That may sound radical, but we have seen a geological shift in the landscape of ozone treatments.

There is an occasional issue that we hear about at the offices of the National Ozone Association, and that is over-treatment of house, room, or building during an ozone treatment.  Think of ozone as you might any remediation or cleaning product.  You can use too little, or too much.  Think of cleaning with something as simple as water.  Cleaning a very dirty floor with too little water will make mud.

Misinformation is to the Internet as rumors are to high school.  The truth may be quite different from the rumor, but if it is repeated often enough ... the lie starts to sound like the truth.  And, I have heard more than my fair share of half-truths and malicious rumors about ozone.  

Here is the latest misleading comment, "Ozone is a noxious gas".   Really?  Noxious by definition is "poisonous, toxic, deadly, harmful, and dangerous".  Is this how you really understand ozone?

A debate has swirled about for years about the use of ozone generators for mold infestations.  Some mold experts call ozone "useless" for mold treatment, while others strongly insist that ozone will kill mold.

In the ongoing saga regarding the effect of ozone on electronics, we did our own experiment that exposed a plastic bag, a small speaker, and a cell phone to high levels of ozone (much higher than 20 ppm) for a period of 5 days.  Frankly, our meter does not go higher than 20 ppm, so with a 3000 mg/hr ozone cell in a box less than 2 foot square was super-intense.

Early on, the start-up ozone entrepreneur usually runs into a wall that dashes their enthusiastic belief in ozone as the "Single Solution" to odor problems.  Over the years, I have seen many people start their ozone business with an all-out belief in the power of ozone.  Frankly, ozone is a legitimate and powerful solution, and it deserves to be respected as an environmentally-friendly solution that is a powerful solution to odor problems, sanitizing needs, allergy abatement, mold kill, and more.

The rumor that ozone can damage rubber or plastic in a home is a very dated topic.  So, let's clear this up.  To make the point properly, let's go back to what ozone is and how it works.  Ozone is oxygen.  It has been enriched from the standard O2 molecule to an O3 molecule.  We are told that ozone is "Reactive", which means it will react with other compounds or elements.  That reaction is not an explosion or a noxious gas.  The reaction is OXIDATION.

Real estate agents often encounter latent odors when trying to sell a less-than-new home.  Pet odors is one of the most common odors, but smoking is equally as bad.  Strong and spicy cooking odors will remain for years after a family leaves.  Then, there is the mold and mildew odor that sends prosective buyer out the door in a hurry.  No one wants a mold-infected home, and even more so if there are vulnerable children in the family.  

The fact that ozone is very effective for odor removal is making strides everywhere.  Ozone has been a long-standing tool for industries because it will cancel odors, sanitize, neutralize many pollutants, and kill mold.  Ozone is used to cure materials during manufacturing, and is used in thousands of municple water treatment facilities in the United States and around the world.  Ozone systems are also use to reclaim waste water or clarify retention ponds.